Seed dispensers of many types are, of course, known in the agricultural planter art, some including horizontal seed plates turning on vertical axes and others including vertical plates or wheels turning on horizontal axes. The latter have many advantages over the former but both types have certain drawbacks, among which is the inability to discharge seeds in sufficient volume and at reasonable speeds to conform to modern high-speed farming operations. The present invention is directed mainly to solutions to the problems existing in current designs of vertical wheel dispensers.
It is a feature of the invention to provide a casing or housing having walls defining a chamber that is divided into two compartments by a circular seed plate or wheel that rotates on a horizontal axis. One of the compartments receives seed, as from a hopper carried by the planter frame, and the wheel has one or more through openings enabling the seed to flow through to the other compartment. Thus the seed feeding means supplies both compartments and the seed wheel or plate has seed-receiving cells at both radial faces for receiving seed from the respective compartments, both of which lead to a seed outlet for delivering seed to the ground, furrow, etc. The dispenser includes means for holding the seed level in the compartments at a desirable height.
A further significant feature is that the seed cells at one side of the plate are staggered angularly with respect to those at the other side of the plate, thus enabling the use of a plate rim of relatively narrow cross section. The cells at both sides are alike to the extent of being mirror images of each other and the shapes and dimensions of the cells are based on the size and shape of the seeds being handled. The plate is interchangeable with others adapted for handling seed of other configurations. The present design is based preferably on the practice of one seed per cell.
The invention features also a trough or gutter provided in the cylindrical wall or band of the casing, the wheel or plate running midway between opposite sides of the trough, which is wider in a cross-wise direction at its bottom to facilitate entry of seed into the cells but which converges to a high part of the cylindrical wall for better cooperation with internal means for confining the seeds to the cells until the seeds reach a predetermined area for rapid, positive release from the plate and into the seed-delivery outlet, release being also assisted by centrifugal force.
On the whole, the preferred construction is of relatively light-weight, high-strength materials capable of functioning over long periods of time at substantially high speeds consistent with accurate planting.
Further features and advantages of the invention will appear as the disclosure progresses.